Friday, January 30, 2009

So i saw an interesting commercial recently. Actually It was last Wednesday after our class.

Miller began airing commercials promoting its "1 second ad," touting it as economically responsible, because a regular 30 second ad during the Super Bowl costs multiple millions of dollars.

I can't help but be a little perplexed by this strategy. Are they planning on airing 30 one-second ads? Will there just be one ad the entire night? Will this strategy pay off? Will it save the company money? Will the hype surrounding this promotion be worth it? How much are they actually spending on this campaign?

Check it out for yourself. You can see some of the ads at the website:

The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a powerful campaign that has been created due to a growing problem of young girls being exposed to images of unattainable beauty in the media and therefore developing major self-image issues. Dove is trying to reverse this by encouraging parents to "talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does." They also having seminars for young girls to become more confident in their own skin. This is a great campaign and one of the reasons I became an ad major. Check it out!

The company that is so great at producing memorable Super Bowl ads has put up a new website that give people like us a behind the scenes look at the creation of some of their ads, and even provides a couple of previews for the ads that will go live this Sunday night. I really thought it was interesting to hear about the director of the commercials, especially since he has been directing the Budweiser commercials for some 25 years.

Everyone enjoy, but remember, as the site says, "Responsibility Matters. Please only share this content and our products with friends 21 and older."

Thursday, January 29, 2009

My sister is putting her art up in All Saints Cafe this weekend. Go check it out and get some red velvet cake while you're there (best i've ever had). Look at her blog as well she's really talented and is in grad school here for art education because she doesn't feel like starving on the streets. Here's her blog link: http://amyelizabethlee.blogspot.com/

I found out about the coolest way to get information the other day. Some of you already know about it, but there is a company that has people sitting on google 24/7 and answering questions received via text. My friend told a story at dinner about her friend's snake. Her friend used to sleep with the snake every night(creepy I know) and it always slept in a ball, but he started sleeping in a straight line after he got bigger. The vet told her that the snake was measuring her body to see if it could eat her, and that as long as a snake is as long as it's pray, it can swallow it. My other friend at dinner has a ball python and said that she didn't believe that story and said that a python can't eat a human. This is when I learned about Ask Cha Cha. We called them and asked our question and five minutes later they texted back the answer. Turns out according to google snakes can in fact eat humans, but they can only eat small children up to 4 ft. So I guess that includes midgets too. I think that you could make a funny ad campaign for Ask Cha Cha because you can get really creative with the stories that lead to using the service. Maybe play on the "so people can't bullsh*t anymore" theme, a girl's boy friend is at dinner with her parents and tries to impress them, but the dad decides to be an ass and ask cha cha to call the kid out on the bullsh*t.

How do you make sex light-hearted and funny? With balloon animals of course. Let the creatives down at McCann-Erickson (right?) teach you in this hilarious ad. The ad features no dialogue, simply 3D animations of horny balloon animals.

Yesterday I wasted an hour and a half of my life, not working out or studying, but watching a crazy lady drive a Uhaul in a high speed chase located in Southern California on Fox News. Two of my roommates and I sat there and just watched her drive it down the highway.....for close to two hours. Nothing really that exciting happened and in the end she got speared by a cop. I must say though, that this was some of the most entertaining television I've watched this week. Not because it was a high speed chase or in Cali but because there were no scripts to be followed or regualtions being places on this lady by the FCC. It wasn't a love story that you know everything is going to turn out ok or that the girl is going to fall down when the killer is chasing her in a horror movie, it was real life and LIVE. Yes I guess MTV Realword is real life but it's all regulated and edited before put on television. You honestly had no clue what was going to happen. The most intriguing part of this chase also was that it was a Uhaul, a truck with a lot of space in the back. "Dude, what do you thinks in the back.... drugs, immigrants, guns, or something even sweeter," i kept asking one of my roommates. In the end there was nothing in the back, I know sucks, and she was just running beacause well, she stole the Uhaul and prior charges. In no way does this show anything creative, but It should me how intoxicating something can be when there is no set future for the event. Heres a short video of the chase, like I said nothing extremely exciting, and you wont have the same feeling I had because its not LIVE, sorry.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAN7EPynhQE

There is controversy over this video being obviously fake. What do you think?

I also thought that after each trick the next one could never top it but time and time again I found myself amazed, even if it was fake. I chose Laurence Maroney of the New England Patriots, I mean he was practically flying. Who would you pick?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's short story "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn," Smith Magazine began running open submissions of "memoirs" in six words, getting equally fascinating entries from the famous and the unknown.

The best of the responses were collected into "Not Quite What I Was Planning," which became a bestseller. But the memoirs kept coming, and now, just in time for Valentine's Day, there's a new collection, "Six Word Memoirs of Love and Heartbreak by Writers Famous and Obscure." So I ask you, what would you say in only 6 words?

Here's a few of my favorite excerpts and also a link to the book on Amazon:

In my Intro to Merchandising class, we discuss merchandising strategies in retail stores, and our professor, who helped open up the Macys in Tallahassee, told us a story....

A long time ago, a product called the Tuna Turner was introduced to Macys. I'm not exactly sure what this product was, but neither did anybody else, which is probably why it mostly collected dust on the store's shelves. So in an effort to sell these random contraptions, the visual merchandiser had to employ creative strategies to draw attention. She created tiers and placed the Tuna Turners on the tiers and painted the top to look like a vinyl disc. She then put a puppet next to the tiers of Tuna Turners and had a sign that read, "I can Tune-a-Turner!"

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Every Tuesday night at 10 pm my friends and I gather around the TV to watch the much anticipated (sadly we all look forward to it all week) episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County on Bravo. I must admit I am a fan of the show, but frankly I don't understand why (its like crack). The show basically consists of these women trash talking each other and then hanging out with one another as if nothing is wrong. Last week's episode was particularly offensive because one of the housewives, Tamara (who thins she is god's gift to the world) pressured Gretchen (who isn't even married, so I'm not sure why she is a housewife) to drink shots of tequila after she was already wasted, so that she could tempt her into hook up with her 22 year old son, who was close to date raping this poor drunk lady. Meanwhile Gretchen, who is supposedly friends with Tamara, is engaged to a man that is in the hospital dying from cancer. How screwed up is that?!? Oh the drama! The funniest part of watching the show is that my friends and I are so perplexed by everything going on that we can't shut up, so then I am forced to catch up on what I missed when they replay the show during the next hour. So basically I just wasted two hours of my life watching a show twice! All I know is that Bravo is pretty smart for playing the same episode back to back, because people like me stay tuned and not only watch their stupid show again, we watch all of the ads too! If you happen to miss the 20 reruns in one week you can watch old episodes on bravotv.com too. Damn those reality shows...they always get you!

Here is a picture of Gretchen taking more shots in the episode title "Naked Wasted" because Tamra was telling fellow housewife Vicki that she was going to get Gretchen naked wasted, even though she is engaged....and is her friend!

My favorite color changes on a regular basis as if I were a kindergartner. Recent advances in car paint have made it possible to change the color of your automobile with the click of a button. Don't like your super sweet sixteen birthday present, just push that button and no one will know the difference.

The paint consists of a "special polymer containing paramagnetic iron oxide particles that when an electric current is applied, it adjusts the spacing of the small crystals within the iron oxide particles and their ability to reflect light and change color." Due to the lack of my car paint knowledge, I imagine tiny prisms that flip around when zapped with electricity thus emitting a different color of the rainbow. Skittles should defiantly look into designing a company car with this new luxury.

Last night was the series premier of "Trust Me", a new show about two guys working in an advertising agency. We had talked about Mad Men in class and how it is a great show, so when I heard about this new show that was about advertising in modern times I was excited and expected something great. While I don't think the show was awful, it definitely was not what I expected. For being a show about advertising, an extremely creative industry, the show seemed to last just that--- creativity. Eric McCormick even plays a creative director in the show! I love both of the actors who are starring in this show (McCormick and Tom Cavanagh) and I think that is for that reason that I am willing to give the show another chance. The first episode though was over the top and not compelling at all. There wasn't anything in it that really made me want to continue to watch it to see what happens next. I mean in the first two minutes of the show... someone died! How are you going to kill someone off in the first episode? It just made no sense to me. It was like you start watching this show and you begin to get upset with this character and not really like him and then poof! he's gone. Just like that the villain is dead. I guess it will be interesting to see where they go with this show. If every episode is like the first one, I don't see how they will be able to keep this going for long. However, in the shows defense I think it is going to go in a similar direction as 'NipTuck' with the romantic element at the workplace and drama between the workers. Which actually can be very true and relatable to many people in advertising. I remember when I was in NYC talking to professionals in the business, I would ask them how they maintain a family life and their job and they said "you don't. You usually marry someone from your job." Which I thought was interesting then and could see the show going towards that now. Either way, It is a show about advertising and working in an agency and it might be interesting for everyone to watch and formulate their own opinion on. As for me, I'm going to give it another shot next monday night and see how it goes!

Instead of the original A.D.I.D.A.S. I replaced the "S" with an "F" --> I decided to take my own acronym since literally "all I do is dream about Florence/food" (two of my passions). I was recently going through pictures from last spring when I studied abroad in Florence and came across one restaurant I became very fond of, and probably went there way too much since I knew the owners on a first name basis. This restaurant is called Acqua Al 2, bringing in locals and tourists from all over. As much as we would like to try everything on their menu, it is extremely large so they have sampling for salads (3 different types), pastas (5 different types), and steaks (3 incredible mouth-watering steaks). One of their steaks is what they are most famous for, which is known as the "Blueberry Steak." At first you might think how gross that sounds, but once you take a bite of this sensational piece of deliciousness you will not be able to put your fork and knife down!

I came quite often to this place since it was not as pricey as my favorite restaurant in the whole world (In Florence, La Giostra- and yes, I know the owner there as well... and one too many waiters/waitresses). If anyone is going to Florence in the near future I have an itinerary ready and waiting for you, so please feel free to ask me about anything. Truly... I really do still dream about Florence and their unbelievable food.

Saturday night was super busy and awesome! I sang in a choir concert complete with a small accompanying orchestra, young girls choir, and an opera trained baritone and soprano. Afterwards, my boyfriend, a choir mate and I headed out to the Bradfordville Blues Club for some authentic, old-fashioned southern blues.

At 8:00pm, Dr. Andre Thomas, director of the Tallahassee Comunity Chorus, addressed the audience and promptly began the Unity Concert. We began with a Langston Hughes poem chorally arranged by Dr. Thomas, and then the lights dimmed and a video of highlighting Mr. Rogers' (as in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) achievements and dedication to the self-esteem of children. Following the video, Mrs. Rogers (an FSU College of Music alumnus) was brought on stage to be honored and presented with flowers. Then Dr. Thomas put on a sweater and conducted his own arrangement of "Won't you be my neighbor?".

Although Mrs. Rogers and her husband's song was supposedly the highlight of the evening, I thought felt like the real show stopper was "the Mass of the Children" by John Rutter. For this we had a baritone and soprano soloist and the SwiftCreek Middle School girls choir accompany us. To truly understand the soul of this piece, it is essential to know the context in which it was written. John Rutter's son was killed by a drunk driver on his way home from choir practice one day, and for two full years Rutter didn't compose anything. This mass was the first thing he composed after the tragedy of his son's death. Masses are long and have several movements, and it feels as though Rutter used this inherent structure to map out a life. The exchanges between the girls choir, the adult choir (me!) and the soloists was just beautifully written and very well executed. A particular movement that stands out is Agnus Dei, which is a movement in most all masses. The text that is sung is "agnus dei miserere nobis" which translates to "lamb of God have mercy". Text like that leaves room for a lot of drama, and boy did Rutter (and the student conductor and the choir) deliver!

Following the Rutter, the girls choir sang a cute song called something like "Peace on Earth (and lots of little crickets!)" and then we sang an arrangement of the old African proverb "it takes a whole village to raise our children".

After a quick change out of our hideous choir dresses, my choir buddy, my boyfriend and I headed out to join the FSU Adventure Club in the middle of no where for this amazing blues club. Just head north on Thomasville (about five miles past I-10) turn right on Bradfordville, drive about three miles, turn right at the sign for Bradfordville Blues Club, and when the dirt road forks, head left. You will be greeted by a HUGE oak tree. Seriously, the diameter of this thing had to have been more than a metre (you could fit 30 super models in its trunk). Although the Bradfordville Blues Club is a free-standing building, I think the term "hole in the wall" applies. The building is super old, with an uneven interior dark blue paint job, decorated with various signed portraits of local and signed musicians. Although the place is small, it boasts a dance floor and a pretty good sound system. Outside they had a bon fire and a kitchen stall vending fried catfish, mullet and french fries.The real thing that struck me as awesome about this place was the ambiance. It had this authentic, gritty appeal. This was the REAL blues. The performers were old and looked the part and boy could they play! The guitarist, an emaciated looking fellow with long gray hair, called himself Mississippi James and the singer was an old black guy wearing a leopard print cowboy hat and a brown Bill Cosby-esque sweater. The audience and the performers alike were having a great time, and after an hour or so, the whole club (including the performers) went out to relax and chat around the bonfire for 30 minutes or so before resuming the blues. It was beautiful.

The end.

Seriously though guys, you should check that place out. It's totally awesome!Beatrice Murray

(I haven't taken Spanish since 9th grade, so forgive me if the title is wrong.)

I'm sure most of you have seen the fun Zappos.com commercials with the people dancing and color exploding everywhere as the mailman delivers happiness to eager shoe lovers (if not, you can get a dose here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxBWfqDAQkg). Being a shoe lover myself, I decided to check out the site. I was a bit disappointed when Zappos.com didn't explode with color and music when I opened it and instead looked like every other website, but I did some site surfing and decided Zappos is still a pretty sweet company.

Aside from providing access to 1,340 brands of shoes and 24/7 customer service, Zappos loves staying in touch with its customers. The bottom of the page is full of youtube videos and links to their various fan clubs, online groups, and blogs. According to an article on bnet.com, Zappos has four separate blogs. The CEO and COO actually blog frequently and love to answer consumer questions and feedback both on their blogs and on a twitter feed. Many other Zappos staff members are also into blogging.

While I wouldn't recommend this involvement in new social media to most companies (Can you imagine a blog from the CEOs of Taco Bell or Home Depot?), it seems to be working out for Zappos. According to the BNET article, “Zappos doesn’t do a lot of advertising, but what it does is brilliant. When you take off your shoes in the TSA line at 15 airports around the country, they go into bins with Zappos ads on the inside.” This fun approach brought Zappos revenues from $1.6 million in 2001 to over $800 million in 2007.

Now Zappos has full support from its customers on just about every social networking site, from Facebook and myspace to MyYahoo and MyMSN. Zappos.com even provides the code for 9 different banners/stickers to post on myspace profiles to show your Zappos love. Since it seems a lot about fashion is a popularity contest, it's no wonder jumping into the middle of the social scene has brought Zappos so much success.

I do not subscribe to a magazine myself for two reasons. One, I rarely check my mail. Two, I feel I would get bored with the same magazine for 12 months straight. None the less, I love to read magazines and have accumulated a large stack of them in my room. Anything from National Geographic to Women’s Health to Vogue and People en Espanol, I have read it. The last magazine I came across I had never even heard of but I saw it just sitting there amongst all the other mail that had arrived at Alpha Chi that day; US Weekly, Victoria Secret catalog, tanning bed coupons, etc. However by the looks of this magazine’s cover, there was no way it was going to be touched. The subscriber had graduated last year so I decided to save the magazine from being neglected and swooped it. And that’s how I acquired my first issue of Field and Stream. From my reading I learned some essential survival skills for the outdoors. I have no idea if I will ever apply this information but I feel safer knowing that I can finagle my way out of any life threatening situation by the contents in my Altoids Can survival kit.

Last Sunday my friend Rachel told me about this new music video she downloaded from itunes. It reminded her of me and she knew I'd love the stop motion filming. I'm always interested in hearing new music, and my friends are constantly educating me on bands and new songs. So anyway Rachel had me watch the video on her i pod and let me just say, "wow this video is amazing! I was blown away by the creativity and Rachel was right I do love it!" This may sound really bizarre, but as I was watching this video its creativity made me think of our class. So here it is enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmYAlso I mentioned that my friends are always educating me on music its mainly because I feel like I never really know enough about bands and new sounds. If anyone has a band that is a must hear, do tell.Thanks for helping me acheive music enlightenment!

I have to admit, I am bit of a health freak...but there is one thing that can make me forget about all that healthy eating babble... especially after a long day or during a good movie...ICECREAM. My favorite in particular is without a doubt, Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. It is the perfect combination of all my favorite indulgences. Going to pick out which flavor I am going to enjoy is almost as fun as eating it. Have you ever watched someone browse through the icecream section at a circkle K or grocery store? It is pretty funny to see just how long it takes for them to make this insignifcant decision of what flavor they will enjoy, especially when they come accross the Ben & Jerry's section. The detailed, enticing descriptions of all the goodies contained in those delicious little quarts make for a very difficult decision process. It just goes to show how genius the entire Ben and Jerry's campaign is. Even as a "health Freak," I feel a little less guilty when I indulge in something that claims to be "organic/all natural and good for my soul." The entire Ben & Jerry's empire is based around earth friendly ethics and products. The whole idea behind Ben & Jerry's seems to be flawless especially with the Y generation's obsession about going green. Working for Ben & Jerry's would be an ideal job. I really admire how their ethics and values are apparent in their marketing campaigns and products.

Last night I watched the premiere of the tv show Trust Me on TNT. It's a new drama featuring the daily events that go on at a Chicago advertising agency. The two main characters, Mason (Eric McCormack) and Connor (Tom Cavanagh), are a successful creative team who are good friends, but one is promoted over the other and their friendship is tested. Last night's episode was just the introduction but it seems pretty interesting to me just because it's cool to see what exactly they go through (although it may not be all true) I think I'll keep watching to see how it ends up. It's refreshing sort of to see a tv show that's not about cops or detectives (not that I don't like those, I love law and order) but I guess it's just easier to relate to. This episode was really fun at the end when they presented a pitch for a cell phone and Mason sort of came up with something on the top of his head and told this crazy story of a cell phone creating fear. The tag line ended up being "what can you do with one hand?" Each episode Mason and Connor need to come up with new slogans for their clients and deal with the “crisis of the week.” This of course leads to some pretty funny scenes. The friendship between Mason and Connor is one of the best things in the show because they are such opposites, it creates an interesting dynamic that works for the show. I hope to have relationships like them when I get a job. (granted I probably wouldn't be as mean as they are to each other sometimes.) It's overall a good show though- it's on Monday nights at 10 on TNT. check it out! here's a preview video for it for those who haven't heard about it!

As of lately, I've been pretty obsessed with viral marketing. Advertising can be boring at times when everyone is doing the same thing. The other day I was just glancing over the internet when I randomly clicked on improveverywhere.com. This site is glorious!

Basically it's a group of agents that try and disrupt people in unexpected places. Their sole purpose is to get that one awkward moment where people are unsure of whether to laugh or keep a serious face. If these guys worked for a creative firm, they'd be billionaires!

When i was in high school i took web design classes and our teacher used to show us fun little websites that had to do with photoshop. One that really stood out to me is called http://www.worth1000.com/ . They have contests with specific topics that people enter to win money. Its really fun to go look at when you are bored sitting on the computer.I admit that since i became addicted to facebook i don't check up on it as much but go check it out! If your are good a graphic design you would definitely like this site and if not its still interesting. Most advertising majors would also like this people even though some of the topics are pointless and just fun there are some that have to do with product placement and the corp world.

These two are just examples. The one on the left was the topics of "Corporate Takeover" and the one on the right is called "Mate-A-Company"(google and Audi). I thought this was pretty clever .

In high school I had always heard about kids who would put their cells for in the microwave to "fix" them or "dry" them off so the little sticker on the inside wouldn't show it got wet. I always wondered how that worked because, if the microwave goes crazy and sparks with a piece of silverware in it, then how does a cell phone, that is full of all kinds of fancy electronic stuff (made of metal), not do the same thing? My friend showed me this video the other day and it jogged my memory about all those cell-phone-in-the-microwave stories I used to hear in high school. IT also showed me what really happens when you put a phone the microwave. It's kind of interesting, especially with the music and sound effects this person added to the video.

It's something my friends and I have been doing for years now, and I was just curious if any one else did it with their friends. I'm talking about comparing people or objects to other people or objects. And I'm not talking about about "oh, that girl kind of looks like Jess" (Jess being a good friend). We've all done that. I'm talking about comparing that guy who sells peanuts at the baseball games to Jaffar from Aladdin. I'm talking about Sasha Kahn (a basketball player for Kansas) to Carl from Ghost (the bad guy from the Swayze flick), but only Carl at the end of Ghost. We called that one 'late movie Carl." I'm talking about trans-gender, animated, inter-racial, trans-specied, 2D, 3D, if two guys had a kid (and you compared that kid to someone), if two girls had a kid, etc.

I bring all this up for two reasons. First, it takes a hell of a lot of creativity to come up with an intriguing comparison. Second, after taking Desktop, I mentioned to my friends that I could create a website (although for those of you who had that class with me, you would disagree), where people could submit comparisons with explanations as to their arrival at these comparisons. Would any of you take the time and or pride in submitting these completely irrelevant but hopefully extravagant comparisons?

... and I'm not talking about that overplayed hipster theme song by British songwriter M.I.A.

I'm talking about paper planes, the kind made out of paper--yeah, the ones that you fold up and throw into the air. Lately I can't stop making them; I have a collection just laying around the house. I have my favorite kind, not sure what you'd call it, but I like to call it an F-16 Flying Falcon.

I challenge anyone to fold a plane better than mine. In fact... someone please use that as a Kickstart. Let's have a paper airplane contest/race. All I ask is that there be no paper rings... that isn't a plane. A plane consists of a body with 2 wings.

The trick is in the symmetry from side to side, and then the balance between the front and the back.

I absolutely love this ad! I think its really important to look at what other countries are doing, and this campaign from India is a prime example. They have created a lot more than an advertisement. They have created a movement. Check this ad out on youtube..its a story of how just one person can really change the attitude of the world. Pay close attention to the woman in the background who says "I hate this country", which leads into this one little boy trying to move a giant tree out of the road. Then, what do you know, everyone joins in to help. The music is quite powerful as well..It kind of goes back to what we were talking about in class (about how when we were kids we were so free and happy), I think we all need to work on getting back to that point. Lead India also won many many awards at Cannes this past year. Check it out!

To be pleasantly surprised would mean I’m saying the least of my impression of the film,“It Happened One Night.” Last night, I witnessed this movie for the first time at the SLC on campus. The movie itself, which is considered the very first screwball comedy, was indeed hilarious, even by this product of generation Y.

To think a 1934 film that is still categorized as one of the best comedies ever made is incredible. Why such success you ask? Well, it’s all about conversation. From declaring Abraham Lincoln as a real piggyback rider to the concept of principal to limbs and thumbs, the story seems to fall in the hands of the leading lady, Ellie Andrews and her male counterpart, Peter Warne and their way with words.

Also, the timeframe of the film is brought into play as you notice certain gaps in society of how things are run. For instance, hotels are brought to this light. Each room has these “hangers” that allow for a string to go from one end of the room to the other. In such occasion, people could hang a blanket to cover any exposure from one bed to the one laying a few feet next to it.

So, grab a carrot and sit down one evening and watch this movie with a friend, family, or anyone who may just like carrots.

This crossed my desk this morning and I wanted to make sure that it specifically went out to the World Famous advertising students at FSU. This is an internship I did last summer which resulted in my full-time job now. I can say that it was an excellent opportunity and if you're interested in learning the in's and out's of the ad world (and are specifically interested in a career in account services) in a very fun, small agency (owned by award-winning creatives) than I suggest you apply for this internship. Of course, you'd have to live in New York for the summer. :)

Let me know if you have any questions!

Woods Witt Dealy & Sons seeks self-motivated and driven individuals interested in pursuing a career in online communications and account management. Students graduating between August 2009 and Spring 2011 are ideal. There is opportunity to grow into a full-time position.

Reaching from fashion to fantasy, Barbie has been an icon for girls all over the country for decades now. This year, Barbie is celebrating her 50 years of existence. There are very few brands that are as epic as this doll. Influencing girls from tots to their teen years, Barbie has created this world of plastic high heels and pink convertibles. While there has been controversy over the years of whether or not this image is a positive one, we continue to relish in her memories.

Almost every girl can say she has one fond memory of her Barbie years. If you are my mom, you saved every doll and outfit owned for when I have my own children. When I first read about this anniversary, I realized Barbies are timeless. They may come out with new styles or dolls with different hair color to accommodate different cultures, but ultimately, girls will always be playing with Barbies.

Loving this fashion icon does not stop at age ten. Think we're all too old? Think again! Along with Chanel, Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen, Barbie will be hosting a pink carpet runway show during Fashion Week in New York, sponsored by Mercedes Benz in Bryant Park. Girls of all ages will be permitted to attend the show featuring styles from the 60's to current trends. It is supposed to be the biggest celebratory anniversary a company has seen in a while- bringing events and exhibits to Paris as well. Come on Barbie, let's go party!

"There are two ways of being Creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can Create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish."

- Warren G. Bennis

I feel that when it comes to being creative, it always helps to have a little inspiration...

My elementary school art teacher once asked us to start keeping an Inspiration Box. She wanted us to take an empty shoe box and fill it with anything and everything we found that we liked or that sparked our creativity. Pictures from magazines, colorful leaves and flowers, a cassette of our favorite song, etc. Then we would have this collection to return to if we ever needed a little creative push.

I think its a great idea to collect things that inspire us and surround ourselves with them. While an empty room can be full of potential, a decorated room can be full of inspiration.I found this website over the summer that is mostly an interior design blog, but I think its great for all kinds of creative design. The people blogging are mostly creative people who design for fun, some talented designers working their way into the business, and those who are interested and want to learn more. It's pretty artsy and full of pictures. It's kind of like our blog, where people just post to share the things they love with others. Bloggers bring inspiration from all over the world and give lots of fun tips. One day someone will be asking how to spruce up an old and boring dresser, and the next they'll post pictures of awesome holiday decorations, or a creative art display they saw on their way to the train.

Even if this site isn't necessarily your style, I hope you find something that gets your creative juices flowing. Whether its clippings in a box, or a bookmarked page on Safari...Get inspired!

So tonight a new show comes on TLC @ 10-- "Toddlers and Tiaras". It's all about little girls competing in beauty pageants and their crazy parents getting them spray tans and having them wear fake teeth. It is totally creepy but also really funny to me... kind of like the girls in the movie Little Miss Sunshine, for those of you who have seen it. I don't watch a lot of tv but I saw a preview for it the other day and I think I might just have to watch... it's just too ridiculous. Apparently you really can make a show out of just about anything...here's a link to the show's web site http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/toddlers-tiaras/about-toddlers-and-tiaras.html -- I hope it's funny! :)

This ad is about a pregnancy test that is much different from the typical ad for pregnancy tests. To be honest I don't really like it and I'm not sure how effective it is. Sure I remember the commercial from among the others but only because it annoys me slightly. They have a man speaking in the ad and the test zooms out like its a ship on star wars. If that's not enough when they say "this is the most advanced piece of technology you will ever pee on" they show a stream of urine. I would really like to see the research behind this ad because I have no idea where they got the idea that women would respond positively to an ad like this. Anyway as much as I don't like the ad it makes me laugh. Check it out for yourself.

If your hair has a voice,It would surely be a talker.Accented with jojoba oil and jasmine,Sydney Smooth ShampooWill have your hair saying"I'm silky smooth and sexy"In seconds.

Poetry, pure and simple. As a Creative Writing major, I have been taught to find elements of poetry in everything from daffodils to dumpsters. So when I encounter it on a bottle of shampoo, I'm not surprised. Rather, pleased.

It was years ago when I first recognized the mystical world of shower literature. I've always been one for reading labels. And when I'm in the shower, with nothing but steam and my own thoughts, my mind craves something substantial.

I grabbed the new bottle of Aussie shampoo beside me. I snapped open the top and allowed a bottle cap amount of pearly liquid to settle in the palm of my hand. Before massaging it into my scalp, I made sure to check the label. Normally, it's the general lather, rinse, repeat. This time- this bottle- was different. The bottle was packed, from back to front, with stylish phrases. The directions reminded me to "be smooth" and treat my hair "like a red carpet celebrity". I was so fascinated by the bottle copy I postponed the rinse to study all the other bottles in the shower for little poems.

Since that day, a small part of me has longed to write for shampoo bottles. It's a strange desire, I know. There's just something about those descriptions of fragrance blends and frizz-reducing oils that appeals to my poetic side. And even if this dream fails to come true, I know I can always count on Aussie to inspire me to add some roo to my do.

I am not a the "typical" girl who started dancing when I was 3. I didn't start dancing until I was in high school, and it was something I just happened to start doing. The main reason I wanted to learn how to dance was so I would have a talent for pageants. I was really into pageants at the beginning of high school and saw myself in Miss America one day, but I needed a talent first.

To begin, I took Dance I at my high school as well as beginner dance classes at a studio. From there, my teacher invited me to join our high school's dance company, where I was exposed to awesome choreography. The next year, my studio wanted me to take advanced dance classes and my high school teacher wanted me to take on the role of co-captain of dance company. I was so amazed! In just one year, I was given opportunities girls work their whole lives for. In just one year, I was exposed to incredible situations that made me grow as a dancer....and I grew fast! Just in 2 or 3 years, I was on the same level of girls my age who had been working to get to that level since they were 3 years old.

Looking back, I grew so much as a dancer because I was inspired by its creativity. You can create any dance you want, use any movement you want and it'll make sense because you created it. Its a way to express your emotions. The music inspires me too. When I hear a song, I can feel the beats and rhythm run through my body, which lets the creative juices flow. If the song inspires me, I can choreograph to it, and I usually will pick a song that conveys how I am feeling to choreograph to. I would dance/choreograph like no one was watching. When you enjoy something so much or are moved by it, it is easy to excel in. This is how dance was for me...I was so eager to express myself, I learned everything about technique, so I could become a stronger dancer. Dance had become so much more than something I had to learn to do for a pageant. It was never a chore, but rather a joy.

My favorite type of dance is contemporary because these dances really can show an audience the issue you're trying to portray. It isn't restricted like ballet is. It's just free-flowing and for me, free-flowing movement increases my creativity. Creativity comes when you least expect it and it isn't retrictive, so why should dance be limited?

I took a couple years off from dance, but I am trying to get back into it. I still feel inspired when I hear a song. Or when times get tough, I just want to dance and let all my frustrations. I hope dance will remain that way for me and that I will always dance like no one is watching.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Since Spring Break is coming upon us, my roommate and I began discussing today what we could possibly do that would be a blast, different, and on a very tight budget. Then it clicked in my head that when I was in Europe this summer I had met some people who were staying all around Europe for free on people's couches. They told me about a website, couchsurfing.com, where you can find people all over the world who take in people for a few nights on their couch. So while discussing the Spring Break plans, we decided to check the website out.. 'why not?'. Not knowing what to expect we went to the site and found it truly amazing. People from ALL over the world register on this website and have a profile for people to check out if they are interested in staying with them. On the profile the 'Free Couch' has pictures, information about themselves, and there is even a reference system where people who have stayed with them before leave comments about their stay. People from all walks of life are registered- students, married couples, older people, young people, etc. - all willing to take you in. We have decided to take advantage of a free couch and will be staying with a 24 year old tour guide in San Juan, Puerto Rico this spring break. I hope her couch is comfortable. Yay!

Lately I realized that a large amount of the current music I listen to, I have discovered from watching TV and the advertisements. Especially with the growing popularity of Apple, they have been on fire with the music they pair with their commercials. Everything is always so catchy and fresh. They say that as an musican/band, to have a song on an Apple commercial automatically grants you such exposure and popualrity. Working with music in advertising would be an awesome job, being able to find the right tune to make the commercial above the rest. I'm not sure how it is with most guys, but I know a lot of girls who will remember an ad with a great and catchy song in it. Among all the Apple and Ipod songs one of my favorites is the AT&T commercial with "Sweet Pea" by Amos Lee. Very mellow and fun tune. Now you are starting to see the title and artist shown through out or in the beginning of the commercial so viewers, such as myself, can quickly tag it and add it to their playlist. It breaks away from the normal overplayed radio singles that are out there and allows you to become aware of what else is out there, without the work of searching.

The concept of creativity glitters out of this performance put on at Gordon College. Students replicated the Super Mario Brothers video game and made the cartoon a real life experience. The manner in which they matched up the music with the actions that fictionally take place in the video game is very precise and accurate. They also created props out of cardboard and replicate Mario falling through a tunnel. The imagination and innovation used to reinact the digital experience is truly the definition of creativity.

So I'm not too sure how many people have heard of Burger Kings "Whopper Sacrifice"facebook application. Basically, the big guys for BK decided to reach us, the book is the way to go.

Basically, you had the option to sacrifice a friend on FB; to end 10 friendships for a free whopper. Most people have randoms they don't really know, so this is all good, easy food right? Well the catch is this, you had to actually let the application notify the person that you traded their friendship for this burger.

I'm telling my roommate Bonnie about this, when the funniest thing to happen in about an hour in my apartment unfolds....apparently some guy she went to high school with had sacrificed her for a whopper earlier that week, and she had no clue what it was! Then the kid friend requested her again, just to dump her off for some free burger king.

Well, surprise, just as this viral marketing begins to pick up and people start to understand whats going on, the book shuts it down. Apparently, this is against FB's user agreement (you can't tell people when someone un-friends them).

So now when you go to the whopper sacrifices site (probably looking for that free and easy meal) you see this:

In the end your love for the Whopper Sandwich proved to be stronger than 233,906 friendships.

You can also send an "Angry Gram" to people now, in response, so that an angry whopper sandwich will go yell at them....

On TLC there is a show called 17 and Counting. It is about a family named "the Duggars" and their 17, now 18 children! I can't even wrap my mind around taking care of that many people, let alone giving birth that many times. This mom has been pregnant 22 straight years. Pregnancy probably feels like her normal state now! My parents only had one child and they think complain about that being hard work. Last night the oldest son got married. I am pretty sure they could not hold hands till they were engaged and had never kissed till they were pronounced husband and wife! I feel like this reality show is VERY different from other ones you see on tv. You can tell this family has morals and values which a ton of other reality shows lack! One thing really made me mad though, the husband saw the wife before the wedding! They seemed so traditional with everything and then the whole family took pictures before the wedding which I thought was very strange! But the show is very entertaining!

Alright this post was actually inspired by the post about the pirate rappers. Last semester, Facebook came out with their latest language option for the social networking site - English (Pirate). The language option was a huge success. The creative genius behind it all was simply AMAZING, in my opinion. "Friend requests" turned into "sorry louts that think they yer mates", "friends" turned into "me hearties", "status updates" turned into "recent tales", and the Facebook status would always ask "what arrrr ye doin' right now". Sadly, as you may have noticed, the English (Pirate) language option has been removed from the standard Facebook template. Apparently the language was released to pay homage to National Speak Like A Pirate Day, but was soon sent back into testing and redesign because it was not 100% correct yet. I say BRING BACK ME PIRATE TALK !!!

"The Cocktail Creationist"! I found this article about the whole marketing genius behind Grey Goose premium vodka. It turns out this vodka, the whole story behind it (bottled in France, filtered through champagne rock), and it's name were created before the vodka even was! I am sure many of us are familiar with the high end, distinctive bottle, but most do not know the whole story behind it. Most would find it interesting that it actually is not of much higher quality any other vodka, such as Smirnoff. I will quote from the article,

"Yes, some people may taste a difference,” says Wright of Liquid Intelligence. “But you’re talking about a grain-neutral spirit. The FDA definition is pretty narrow. At an elemental level, there is no difference. And anyway, you can’t possibly taste it when it’s in a Cosmopolitan. Grey Goose is about quality because Sidney Frank said it was about quality.”

Also many would not realize that Grey Goose was sold to Bacardi for more than $2 billion. Cash. (To understand how much that is, consider that IBM’s personal-computer business, nurtured, honed, and advertised since 1981, recently sold for $1.75 billion.)

This article really shows the genius behind Sidney Frank's marketing madness. He created an entire empire by good marketing and PR strategy. From designing the fogged glass bottle, to giving it the appeal of it being made in France (instead of Russia, where most vodka is made), to having it delivered in wood crates instead of cardboard boxes, this is truly an intriguing story to read!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Mostly everyone in Florida has been to the 3D show 'Honey I shrunk the Kids' at Universal Studios, but I bet not many of you know that the NFL aired one of its games in 3D this past season. Movie theaters in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles were overrun with future enthusiast looking to see the future of not just NFL viewing but television viewing in general. The Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers game was riddled with cameras specially designed to catch an image and immediately make it 3D for a live audience. Here is the link to get some more details:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,462484,00.html

As well as the NFL going 3D, numerous movies have recently been released in 3D; such as Grendel, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and My Bloody Valentine. This technology has been around for a while, but just now are companies beginning to use it. I expect this trend to keep growing due to the positive reviews of 3D events and also giving the chance for people to experience something new. All of these steps are eventually going to lead to 3D television, which would be awesome. Guys could watch the "Girls Next Door" show in 3D and girls can watch "Greys Anatomy", everyone will be happy.

That's right, pirate rap. Rapping pirates. Hip-hop mateys. Not sure about the story behind these guys, but seems to me like a classic 'joke turned success, fame, and money' story to me. Make sure you take the time to watch their homemade music videos on the left side of the page, maybe you'll understand where I'm coming from when I say joke. But these guys are no joke. This is flat-out gangstuh-crunk pirate rapping at its finest.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

I saw the movie Suspiria, a classic horror film from the 70s, last night for the first time and enjoyed it quite a bit. In short the movie was about an American ballet dancer who went to a ballet academy in Germany and found out the school was run by a coven of witches.....from that brief plot overview I'm sure you can tell the movie was more humorous than scary. Of course the main reason I enjoyed it so much were the great death scenes. An element of the murders that added humor to the movie was the unnatural bright red/orange color of the blood used, and the music by the Goblins in the background, which made me laugh instead of cringe when the innocent ballet dancer had a pice of the glass ceiling fall on her and cut her face down the middle and stab her in the throat.

Friday, January 23, 2009

There's a new series on Showtime called U.S. of Tara and its awsome! Its about a mother that has multiple personality disorder, and she goes into her alter egos randomly through out the day. I think its a great idea and a unique new comedy series. Check it out and watch the free episode, its hilarious and I think you guys will really like it!

I walked into my friends apartment the other day, and laying on the coffee table was what looked like to me a little polo shirt. When I looked closer I saw that it was actually a folded dollar bill in the shape of a polo. Sometime between 7th grade and now, the whole folding dollar bills into shapes thing kind of fizzled out, but I remember being so entertained with this activity. Seeing this polo somehow reinvigorated a feeling of immaturity from my youth and made me so happy. I love it when little things like that can spark something inside of you unexpectedly. If anyone else fondly remembers this phenomenon from middle school, this youtube is for you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERPa6hWJY94

ps. the music in the background is a little harsh you might want to turn down your speakers before it starts :)

Thursday, January 22, 2009

I was watching TV the other night and was thoroughly amused by this commercial. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Starbucks, especially because there is no Dunkin Donuts in Tallahassee, but I thought this was great. I loved that it even got specific in that everything in Starbucks conforms to the atmosphere, even the conversations you have.

I was given this book as a gift, The Rules of the Red Rubber Ball by Kevin Carroll. It is only about 95 pages with a bookmark built in it just like the bible. To my surprise, it became my bible. The book is coined "An adult's version of Dr. Seuss" by Newsweek, presumably because it is filled with creativity, imagination and most importantly pictures. The text is twisted and words like art, play, love, speed and magical are displayed decoratively to display their meaning. The book is warm, motivational and absolutely intriguing. Carroll describes his hardships as a child in very few sentences and tells us about how he turned to the playground and sports to fuel his athletic talent and to escape howlosthe felt before this discovery. He talks about the Red Rubber Ball and how it empowered his dreams and made him feel alive and powerful, loved and wanted. He talks about catching and chasing after the ball. He then turns the playground and the Red Rubber Ball into a metaphor for passion to relate with the reader. He asks, what is your Red Rubber Ball? What activities enthrall you? What in life do you find irresistible, a source of inspiration, a reason to get out of bed? He tells us that dreams start when we are playing and when we feel free. The actualization that you have of your Red Rubber Ball while reading this book is so gratifying and uplifting that it just shakes you to the core. The pictures are so fun and vivid that you feel warm and draw you into the meaning of the book. It makes you think about what is in your head and what is in your heart. It makes you realize that people are around who will help you and encourage you while you are trying to achieve your goals. It tells you that you are creative and to expect the unexpected.

I am currently interviewing for an internship at the Nike headquarters this summer. In researching Kevin Carroll, I found that he worked for Nike as a motivator and inspiration to Nike employees. This man's job was to literally get passion flowing through people. I found it really special that I was randomly blessed with this book and it came full circle that it met me again in my hopes for the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dz2o2J99cM

This clip on Carroll's Red Rubber Ball Project is very interesting. It highlights the same facts that we touched on in class about how kids are more freely open to explore than any adult ever would be. It also ties in with the Red Rubber Ball metaphor. Your Red Rubber Ball could be anywhere. If you have the chance to discover it or embrace it, that to me is the true meaning of success.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

I saw this a couple of years ago, and it is one of those youtube videos that you could see a thousand times, and still cry because you are laughing so hard. So after that introduction, I hope y'all find it as funny as I do. I believe it was done for a candid camera type show in Japan.

Being in advertising I am learning a lot about media coverage and the effects it can have on society. I think the media has done their most effective “brain washing” during presidential elections. Instead of studying past policy decisions of each candidate people watch the press and only listen to the campaigning and slander on various media vehicles.I think that a candidate’s campaign team and promoters should get the credit for the win or loss of the potential president. I am not saying that Obama did not deserve to win the election, but like any effective advertiser Obama promoters recognized both their primary and secondary target market, primary being people our parents age and secondary being colligates and youths 18-24, and appealed in both ways. In one way he targeted the primary market by expressing lower taxes, better medical insurance, wage raises etc., etc. and in the other he created an image of“change” that appealed to the 21st century’s sort of new age counter culture that’s been evolving among people in the 18-24 age range.

On the other hand, McCain promoters only addressed the primary target market and hopped that enough of the older majority were still conservative. I am pretty sure that the vast majority of older citizens are a lot more conservative than our generation but the economy pissed them off so bad they decided they’d rather accept liberal rights such as gay marriage and pro choice than experience another four years in the same economic condition.

So for these reasons I think that Obama’s campaign managers created a far more effective campaign and the results of the election reflect that. In the 2005 election, citizens were not happy with the way the previous four years under Bush went, but John Kerry failed to create the image and trend Obama did. I think the reason young adults are so much more active in politics now is because the media has reached out to them a lot more in the last four years. I love the advertising industry because I think it truly has the ability to change perceptions and create trends in society. Even though the effect advertising has on people changed, because they aren’t trusting of it anymore, the advertisers responded in a smart way by getting to know inner emotions of consumers more and creating campaigns that hit close to home and heart. Youths respond to this very well because I think our generation has a lot more feelings and emotions than previous ones, we don’t see things as black and white anymore we grew up having choice. Obama was very creative in recognizing this large potential secondary market and appealing to it in an emotional way. Just his advertising and campaigning tactics alone show that he was the more intelligent candidate, lets hope his new policies are as good as his campaigning!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Which one are you? The difference we can not see.The mirror was my twin looking back at me.So much alike, always linked,And yet we’re also quite distinct.There’s so much fun in having two,With twice as many points of view.From days of childhood until life is done,It’s one for two and two for one.

Above is part of a poem I wrote about being a twin. What exactly is it like you ask? It gives you a feeling of uniqueness, but also a feeling of frustration. It gives you someone to depend on for life, but also someone to be compared to. No matter what I do, it’s always looked at as how did Lindsay do or what is she doing. It’s not always the best thing being a twin, but I wouldn’t change it for a thing. I have this special bond that no one else can replace. When we were younger we created our own language that only the two of us could understand. How does the mind do that? Before even speaking English the two of us would talk to each other our own way. We had our own little world of imagination, we could take anything and turn it into fun. One Halloween we even dressed as double-mint gum from the double your pleasure commercials! We know exactly what the other one is thinking and we usually can feel the pain the other is feeling. It's crazy to look at pictures and home videos and realize that there really is two of you. I've always known that we would go our separate ways when it came to college because it gets to be that time where we want our own lives, not the "twins" life. We want to experience new things and open up our minds to something different then a life without someone next to you. However, it's as if something is missing that should be here, but ever since we separated to different colleges, my big focus was growing into my own individuality. Being a part of a pair almost makes it a challenge for me to differentiate myself from my sister, we were so much alike growing up. I’m finding my ways creatively and molding myself into who I want to be and how I want to be seen, alone, not as two. While everyone is saying how they want to be a twin, my head is saying, what would life be like if I were a singleton?

If you have'nt heard yet, get excited! ABC's Home Makeover is coming to Tally town on February 20th! I am currently interning at the Florida Association of Broadcasters and heard this exciting news last Friday. Part of my duties as an intern will be to volunteer at the job site during my normal working hours. All the juicy details about the lucky family and building site are being withheld until the day filming begins and the family is formally notified. All I know is that it is within the Tallahassee city limits and the builder is a locally owned contracting company. I am so excited to get to be apart of such a great cause. If you want to be apart of it too, they are looking for volunteers! Since the house MUST be completed in seven days, Tye and the rest of the crew will be working around the clock to make sure it is ready for the families arrival. They are hoping to get college students to volunteer in the middle of the night since we are so use to pulling all nighters and staying out way too late. Please let me know if you are interested and I can get you the info! I think this is a great opportunity for everyone step outside their normal social networks and get involved with the real Tallahassee community. If you have not heard of this show before check out the website: http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index?pn=index

The classic advertising strategy of "running" into people on the street who have things to say about a product or service is not yet trite.... but it's getting there. Now I realize that many facets of the media continue to grow increasingly liberal (liberal used in a context leaning towards lude and pathetic) in hopes to keep up with generation Y's appetite, but this extenze infomercial has crossed a new line.

First, there was The Real World, this set the wheels in motion. Once people found out that real life people could bang on TV, and then talk about it, there was no going back. Now you got all these shows (Nip Tuck, I love NY, Who wants to Marry a Midget) constantly trying to out do each other for ratings, and people are just eating this shit up.

My point is that I was cool with the growth of this completely mindnumbing entertainment before it was used to sell something. This extenze infomercial (youtube it) is the first of what I hope are few campaigns using the jargon attributed to Girls Gone Wild. To boot, the acting is rediculous!

What's good is that extenze infomercials are still running in the A.M's. So, before this style (lack of) of advertising hits primetime, and you see New York's mom comparing a new line of eggplant to some guy she hooked up with in the third season, please people, let's make it through creative 1, and get out into the real world in time to make tasteful male enhancement infomercials. Thank you, and keep dreaming.

This weekend I was more or less blessed with a little visit by the parents. At first I was somewhat dreading the visit, but it really ended up not being that bad. Anyways, when they got here they wanted to cook a Cajun meal for my roommate and me. As they were cooking my dad started telling me all he knew about the Cajun culture and history, etc. And it dawned on me how much a society's food says about their culture. It's like one of those things you've always 'known' but have never really put two and two together. It's awesome!! It's so cool how a society just cooks what they can with what they have and then it turns into the main part of their culture and says so much about them. Or how different cultures have their own flavor (for lack of a better term) for all of their food. I have taken in a whole new appreciation for Anthony Bourdain, Food Network, and Top Chef in a matter of two days. My new food appreciation has also possibly inspired me to learn how to cook... we'll see!

Ever since I've started work in the advertising major my roommate Jenn and I have been collecting ads we find in magazines. We clip out the ones that we find particularly good, crazy, creative or in some cases just plain bizarre. Recently Jenn brought the new Swedish Fish campaign to my attention. I think its crazy and fun. For those of you who don't know me that well this is exactly the the type of thing that makes me laugh. At first glance it doesn't make sense then you look it over again and realize that its one of the smartest, genuinely entertaining ads ever. This whole campaign is just fantastic it plays up a quirky sense of humor which is

both irreverent and thought provoking. I love that you have to take the deeper look in order to understand. Also the use of Swedish for yes and no make the whole campaign come off as pseudo intellectual and humorous. All I have to say is I hope that one day I get to produce ads that entertain people as much as these have amused me.

Ok, so the title is a bit misleading because it wasn't exactly camping. This weekend I went with 11 members of the FSU Adventure Club to plant 2,500 long-leaf pine sapplings in the St. Joseph Bay Preserve and in exchange, we got to stay in their lodge and use their facilities. The lodge is a long patio on stilts a view of the bay and a total of three buildings: two dorm buildings on either side of a common room and kitchen. The preserve is located south west on the gulf edge of the panhandle. This is their website. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/apalachicola/stjoseph_buffer.htm

Planting the trees was hard work but good company and beautiful surroundings made it really fun. Everywhere we walked, the soft white sand or nutrient rich ash and soil mixture was striped with animal prints. I found myself imagining whether the animals who had made the prints were grazing, or rummaging or tracking other animals. I wondered about the weather conditions that had shaped the growth of the surrounding vegetation and more often than not, my planting partner and I would speculate about whether a particular sappling had a good chance at survival.

At the end of all that work, we went back to the lodge and used their new and very comfortable faciltities to clean ourselves up and prepare communal meals. Some of us would cook, some clean and some collect wood and work to build a bonfire in their pit. Over diner we discussed everything from life philosophies (such as inclusionism vs. preservationism on man's role in nature) to movies. After dinner, it was time for the bonfire, s'mores and improvisation games. We had a guitar, a ukeleile and our voices. We did musical improvisation as well as a jungle chorus improv game in which each person times their own random jungle noise in conjunction with those of others. Of course no bonfire is complete without classic sing alongs and truth or dare. And each fire (assuming that it is far removed from society and light pollution) must be followed by star gazing.

What I enjoyed most about the trip was not the breath taking nature, but the laid back and intellectually honest and open people. I would highly recommend this club for anyone who likes the outdoors, environmental service and friendly people. We meet Thursdays at 6:30 in the lobby of the Student Life Building (the building with the cinema). We also have a facebook group.Hope everyone else had an awesome long weekend!Beatrice Murray

If you've ever watched Ace of Cakes on Food Network, you know that the employees at Charm City Cakes act more like a crazy group of kids than culinary artists. They know how to have fun, but they also get things done and put together some amazing cakes, ranging from elegant 5-tier wedding cakes to well-sculpted BLTs and Star Wars ships (any Star Wars nerds out there should check out the incredibly detailed Star Destroyer cake).

The picture on the right is one of a cake they made for Mary Alice's brother, who apparently plays the electric guitar for a rock band and loves his Orange cab+amp. You musicians out there can understand why a guitar player would love this cake! What's funny is this cake probably cost more than the cab did... but hopefully it tasted as good as the real thing sounds :)

Anyway, I'm giving this cake so much attention because a few years down the road I hope to be doing publicity work for bands/musicians, and I'd love to do something a little more creative than the usual flier hand-outs and myspace posts. I'm not a pro in cake decorating, but if a band ever has thousands of dollars to blow on dessert I'll recommend Charm City Cakes.

I love this quote on the CCC website:"We only have one rule at Charm City Cakes, and that is whatever we do, we must have fun!"If I don't make it in the advertising world, I want to work there!

This weekend I went to visit some friends at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and Auburn as well. My friends and I couldn't help but notice that whenever we were watching T.V. in the mornings or while at people's houses we saw this Kleenex commercial about a million times. Seriously though, I think they air 2 commercials in Alabama-- this one and beer ads. Anyways, here is the link to watch it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuFokkwrTZ4I'm sure most of you have seen it already...if not then I'm sorry because it's so repetitive that it's probably going to drive you crazy now. I'm not sure if I think it's particularly creative or not, but I definitely remembered it. Maybe I'll have to go out and buy some tissues?

Everyone at Florida State knows that when a girl turns 21 she has a waltz. This entails the birthday girl coming up with a theme, usually with the help of her friends and going out to celebrate. I do not think boys have waltz's, I have never heard of nor seen one. I think this is a really special tradition that our school has. A lot of my friends from home in Georgia go to big universities very similar to FSU but do not have a tradition like this. I am very excited to finally have my turn after sharing the experience with many of my friends. One of my best friends ended up coming up with my theme. The theme is titled "Paris Hilton and her BFF's". This was a tv show that just recently aired on MTV. I do not think the show was very popular, but everyone knows who she is. I think it would be fun to have everyone dress in a black with over the top costume jewelery and big sunglasses. Her style is very outrageous so whatever I wear it has to be loud and stand out. Now that I have picked my theme, decided what everyone else should wear I just have to figure out what I am going to wear!

Creativity

“It’s like washing a pig. It’s messy, it has no rules, no clear beginning, middle or end: it’s kind of a pain in the ass, and when you’re done, you’re not sure if the pig is clean or even why you were washing a pig.” - Luke Sullivan